Nov. 23, 2011 2:14 p.m. | Mayor Tom Taylor plans to veto the city budget because it reduces the budgets of the fire and police departments by $100,000 each.

The cuts to those departments mean the loss of personnel, Taylor said, and Fire Chief James Martins said he would likely lose two firefighters and would have to periodically close Fire Station No. 2 at 9911 S. 60th St.

Taylor said council members made the cuts believing that the unions representing city firefighters and police officers would make health insurance concessions voluntarily, even though their contracts are not up until the end of 2012. Martins, meanwhile, said there would be no guarantee.

"I think certainly they are very dedicated to the community," Martins said. "I'm sure they would consider that. But whether they would or not, I couldn't say."

Taylor said on Tuesday night council members could override his veto with four votes. If they do not, the city would have to deliberate a new budget or accept the one he presented to the city's Finance Committee. That spending plan kept the fire and police departments' budget intact but called for eliminating a city planner and building inspector position.

July 30, 2015 2:08 p.m. | Franklin — The common council is holding a special public informational meeting on Saturday at 1 p.m., in the Fadrow Room at the Franklin Public Library.

The goal is to provide information to the public and to hear public comments regarding future business park development in the area of South 27th Street and West County Line Road, and the area of South 76th Street and West Rawson Avenue/West Loomis Road.

The public is invited to attend the public informational meeting and to provide input.

July 30, 2015 1:18 p.m. | Greendale — The Greendale School Board will vote on hiring Paul Strobel as interim superintendent of the school district at its regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 3.

The district's former superintendent, John Tharp, resigned in June.

The school board meeting will vote on Strobel's interim appointment at 7 p.m. at the Greendale High School Library, 6801 Southway.

Strobel retired from the Mukwonago School District in 2013 after serving as its superintendent for 31 years. He worked last school year as the interim superintendent of West Allis-West Milwaukee School District.

Strobel earned his Bachelor's degree in history at Marquette University. He has a Master's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Educational Administration and Supervision as well as a Ph.D. in Urban Education and Administrative Leadership also from UW-Milwaukee.

July 28, 2015 8:03 p.m. | Franklin — Three longtime friends have three reasons in mind as they set out to open a new pub and eatery on 76th Street and Rawson Avenue: "to make money, have fun and give back to the community."

At the very least, when David Bartels, Mark Mastrostefano, and Darrel Malek open the Point After Pub and Grille, they see it as adding something that has been missing from the local landscape.

"We've been saying for a long time how badly we need a sports bar in the area," Mastrostefano said. "We want to be the 'Cheers' of Franklin — we want that hometown feel, and to know everyone when they walk in and what drink they order. We want to be the destination."

Mastrostefano said the goal is to get the Point After open before football season rolls around. That's key, because they want their restaurant to be a destination after high school football games, as wel as during and after Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers games.

To that point, the Point After is going to be equipped with 18 TVs in the main area, plus a a 75-inch TV in a conference room.

July 28, 2015 1:53 p.m. | Greendale — A local man has died after a boating accident in Minnesota left him struggling to stay above water Monday evening, July 27

Richard Dziewit, 58, of Greendale was spotted treading water on Lake Vermilion in Greenwood Township around 8 p.m. "while his boat was running and spinning circles around him," the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office reported in a news release.

Two nearby boaters were able to pull Dziewit's boat away from him, but he sank below the water.

Dziewit's body was recovered about 21/2 half hours later by the St. Louis County Rescue Squad.

July 28, 2015 1:00 p.m. | Southside Milwaukee area girls high school softball has always been strong, and among the reasons for that are the strong summer traveling programs in the area

This was recently demonstrated by the highly successful U-16 Greenfield Ignitors club team, which took an impressive second in the recent USSSA Road to Orlando Class A World Series.

According to Ignitors president and head coach Scott Bauer, the team was highly competitive the whole week (July 11-18) .

"It was an extremely successful week for our team, and we took an undefeated record into Saturday's championship game," he said. "Unfortunately, we fell a little short but still walked away with a second-place finish.

"We beat teams from Illinois, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas and Florida to get into the championship game. I think we surprised a lot of people. Before we played a team from Texas, one of the parents from that team was heard to say, 'They're from Wisconsin. How good can they be?' We beat that team 3-0 and really made our mark on that tournament."

July 28, 2015 11:45 a.m. | Glendale — After a week on the northwest side of Milwaukee, the much-talked-about 'Milwaukee lion' may have made an appearance in Glendale Sunday night.

The 'lion-like' creature described by more than a dozen eyewitnesses over the last week was most recently spotted on 30th Street and Fairmount Avenue on Saturday night. Milwaukee police officers have been searching the area around Lincoln Creek in search of the big cat.

The lion may be traveling northeast, if a call from Glendale police is accurate.

Glendale police received a report of a lion sighting at 11:26 p.m. Sunday in the 5700 block of Crestwood Boulevard, about a mile north of Lincoln Creek. The caller said he saw a tan muscular animal with a long tail walking in the area, and then it took off running north toward Marne Avenue.

Glendale police responded to the call, but officers were unable to locate the animal.

July 28, 2015 10:28 a.m. | Continuing its acquisition strategy, Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc. said Tuesday it has purchased an El Paso, Texas, trucking firm that operates across the Southwest and in Mexico.

Roadrunner said it bought Stagecoach Cartage and Distribution for $35 million, plus up to $5 million more based on the unit's future performance.

The purchase will let Cudahy-based Roadrunner operate its own trucks in Mexico, an authority the firm hasn't had. It also expands Roadrunner's presence in the Southwest.

Stagecoach's revenue totaled about $34 million for the 12 months ended June 30, Roadrunner said. Stagecoach is expected to add to Roadrunner's earnings this year.

The purchase is Roadrunner's 34th acquisition since 2005, and the first in 2015. The company made four purchases last year, spending about $230 million.

July 28, 2015 10:14 a.m. | Oak Creek — A local frozen bread manufacturer faces up to $85,800 in fines after one of its employees was injured on the job.

A 30-year-old temporary employee required extensive surgery after suffering burns and lacerations of tendons and ligaments in her right hand after she used a cutting and sealing machine at Joseph Campione Inc., the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported in a news release.

OSHA inspectors found that the Oak Creek food distributor ignored safety requirements to protect workers from moving machine parts. The agency issued one willful and four serious safety violations to the company on July 22, citing the company for failing to protect workers from machinery hazards.

"Thousands of workers are injured each year because manufacturers fail to recognize machine hazards. No worker's shift should end with a hospital stay," Christine Zortman, OSHA's area director in Milwaukee, stated in the news release.

July 28, 2015 9:28 a.m. | Hales Corners — A tanker truck was involved in a crash with a semi-truck at the intersection of Highway 100 and W. Janesville Road, spilling about 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel, Tuesday morning.

Deputy chief Martin Freibergs of the Hales Corners fire department said that tanker truck was hit by another truck heading southbound on Highway 100. He said it was one of the worst spills he has seen in his career.

Freibergs said that the intersection is expected to be cleared by mid-afternoon on Tuesday. The fire department is handling the cleanup by pouring sand onto the spilled diesel, and then will sweep it up. The clean up process will take about three hours because the tanker that spilled has to unload the rest of its fuel into a separate tanker, Freibergs said. The Wisconsin DOT said they believe the Highway to be re-opened by 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Freibergs said that there is a chance that because asphalt soaks up diesel, the DNR might go back and deem the Highway unsafe and be forced to tear it up.

No one was hurt during the crash, an employee at the Bosh Tavern located next to the scene said she heard a load "boom," and saw fuel spill out onto the street.

July 24, 2015 2:38 p.m. | Oak Creek — The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin will welcome the public to take part in a series of events to honor victims of the mass shooting three years ago.

"The Sikh community has always been united, but I think we've united as a whole community (since the attack)," said Pardeep Kaleka, an organizer of the memorial events.

Six members of the temple were killed when a gunman went on a rampage Aug. 5, 2012. Kaleka's father, Satwant Singh, served as the temple's leader and president before he was killed in the mass shooting.

"Shortly after (the tragedy), we saw a huge influx of people we had not seen before," Kaleka said. "More and more people are learning that in order to overcome tragedies like this, we need to move forward together as a community."

The events will also honor the victims of a similar church shooting that occurred this year, on June 17, in Charleston, South Carolina.

July 24, 2015 8:43 a.m. | "Today we break ground and disrupt and weaken the soil only to be followed by hundreds of volunteers who will walk on this very ground to create a strong foundation to build Kayla's Playground," Michelle Runte, founder of Kayla's Krew said. "A community once again coming together to strengthen and to build our community in this beautiful setting of Franklin Woods Nature Center; we couldn't ask for a better silver lining."